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Update 99: Elder Dragon





Meet Elder Dragon, the final boss of the Sea Quests! He’s a rather unique fight.



First of all, he starts off the fight fully bound.



He’ll always try to cast this skill on the first turn.



But his head bind prevents him from making use of it.





However, let him use that skill unimpeded and...















You’ll be looking at the game over screen real fast. So you better keep his head bound, or you’ll pay the price. Now there’s quite a bit more to the fight than this. So why don’t we take a closer look at Elder Dragon?


Elder Dragon
Level: 75
HP: 44800
STR: 82
VIT: 79
AGI: 59
LUC: 56
TEC: 83
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 84000
Item Drops:
-Normal: Holy Horn - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Futsuno Mitama (Knife. Must be restocked.)
--Came from a dragon so long-lived as to be called eternal.
-Gold: Divine Scale - Kill while fully bound. 100% Drop Rate. Prevents normal drops. Unlocks the Dragon Blade. (Ultimate Sword. Must be restocked.)
--Scale with a shine greater than the brightest miracle.
Description: The pinnacle of organic life that has observed the world since the time of the gods.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 50% Strike: 50% Pierce: 50% Fire: 50% Ice: 50% Volt: 50%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 10% Confusion: 10% Plague: 10% Poison: 10% Blind: 10% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 10%
Bind Resistances: Head: 80% Arm: 120% Leg: 90%
Other Resistances: Death: LR – 10% Petrification: LR – 10% Stun: 10%

Skills:

Grand Dive: Does not use a body part. Deals 280% STR-based Strike damage to the entire party. Has an action speed of -20. Has an accuracy of 99.
Wing Rush: Does not use a body part. Deals 300% STR-based Slash damage to one row. Has an action speed of +/-0. Has an accuracy of 99.
Black Fire: Does not use a body part. Randomly hits the party 4 to 6 times, dealing 200% STR-based Fire damage per hit. Has an action speed of -20. Has an accuracy of 99.
Scarlet Ice: Does not use a body part. Deals 280% STR-based Ice damage to the entire party. Has an action speed of -20. Has an accuracy of 99.
Green Flash: Does not use a body part. Deals 450% STR-based Volt damage to one party member. Has an action speed of +/-0. Has an accuracy of 100.
Ancient Breath: Does not use a body part. Heals the Elder Dragon for 1500 HP, and dispels Petrification, Sleep, Confusion, Plague, Poison, Blind, Curse, Paralysis, Head binds, Arm binds, Leg binds, and debuffs. Has an action speed of -20.
Supernova: Uses the Head. Deals 3000% TEC-based Almighty damage to the entire party. Has an action speed of -50. Has an accuracy of 200.

Quite the mighty looking enemy, isn’t he? Supernova is basically a kill move and one of the biggest concerns in the entire fight. Not only that, Elder Dragon takes half damage from everything aside from Almighty damage. And all but one of his skills does not use a body part, so he can’t be locked down easily. But even though he’s very resistant to ailments (as is standard in the post-game), he’s quite susceptible to binds. Still, that 80% Head bind resistance means that we can only bind his head 3 times before not being able to anything about Supernova anymore. Or is that really the case? Well you see, Elder Dragon also has some additional properties in the data that makes him different from most enemies in the entire game.

Flags:

Disable Bind Accumulative Resistance: Elder Dragon will not gain any Accumulative Resistance to binds, no matter what. (Elder Dragon still has Accumulative Resistance with regards to ailments.)
Extra Damage: Leg binding Elder Dragon adds on 50% to his Slash, Strike, Pierce, Fire, Ice, and Volt damage multipliers.

These two flags make the fight play out far differently than most other fights in the game. For one thing, Elder Dragon is the only enemy in the entire game to not have Accumulative Resistance (Only applies to binds.) As a result, binding Elder Dragon is essential to winning the fight because you are expected to make heavy usage of binds. If your party doesn’t have access to binds, don’t worry. The game has you covered on that. You’ll see what I mean later.

Head binds shut down Supernova, that much is obvious. While none of Elder Dragon’s skills (aside from Supernova) use a body part, notice how every single one of them, the elemental attacks included, make use of Elder Dragon’s STR stat. As a result, Arm binds will halve the damage from his attacks. And considering how high Elder Dragon’s STR stat is, as well as how high those damage modifiers are, you’ll definitely want to bind his arms too. The 2nd flag makes it so that Leg binds are also a vital tool to make use of, as your damage is greatly reduced if you don’t bind his legs.

Elder Dragon’s AI Script posted:

Start off the battle with head bind, arm bind, and leg bind.

Cast Supernova on the 1st turn. (Standard targeting.)

If Ancient Breath was cast at least once during the battle, and self has head bind, arm bind, or leg bind, 79% chance to cast Ancient Breath. (Targets self.)

When HP falls below 51%, cast Ancient Breath. (Targets self.)

Follow this routine until HP falls under 51%:
-Turn 1: Grand Dive. (Standard targeting.)
-Turn 2: Wing Rush. (Standard targeting.)
-Turn 3: Supernova. (Standard targeting.)
-Turn 4: Wing Rush. (Standard targeting.)

-Loop from turn 1.

If HP fell under 51% at any point in the battle:
-Turn 1: Cast Supernova. (Standard targeting.)
-Turn 2:
--39% chance to cast Black Fire. (Standard targeting.)
--40% chance to cast Scarlet Ice. (Standard targeting.)
--21% chance to cast Green Flash. (Standard targeting.)
-Turn 3:
--39% chance to cast Grand Dive. (Standard targeting.)
--40% chance to cast Wing Rush. (Standard targeting.)
--21% chance to cast Ancient Breath. (Targets self.)
-Turn 4:
--19% chance to cast Black Fire. (Standard targeting.)
--20% chance to cast Scarlet Ice. (Standard targeting.)
--61% chance to cast Green Flash. (Standard targeting.)

-Loop from turn 1 until death.


Elder Dragon’s AI is pretty simple. He follows an attack pattern that he pretty much never deviates from in the first half of the fight, but he’ll mix things up once you reach the second half. Ancient Breath will start coming in at that point as well. While that skill is a bit of a setback when it gets cast, it also means that’s a turn Elder Dragon isn’t attacking you, so hog tying him is still in your best interests.

Elder Dragon is honestly just a really cool fight, and it’s my favorite boss fight in the entire game. Having to use bind to keep him down really makes the fight stand out. And it also helps that he’s not fully disabled, so you still have to engage with whatever he tries to do. In that sense, binds aren’t really disables so much as different forms of debuffs. He’s a real test for your party’s capabilities, and doesn’t feel unfair for the most part. I mean for one thing, the game actually tells you how to deal with Supernova since he’s guaranteed to cast Supernova on the 1st turn, and if you let him cast it, you’ll find out very quickly why that’s a bad idea, so rematching him is fairly painless, especially considering that he’s a Sea Quest boss. A shame that the game couldn’t have ended on this note, but I digress.

With that said, there’s a bit of a noticeable blemish in this fight. Notice how Elder Dragon’s head bind resistance is only 80%. Now the two best head binding skills in the game, Call Bird, and Hanging, have infliction rates of 50% and 60% at level 10. Now with an ailment score of 217, those can be increased to 100% and 120%. Oh, and Wild Mastery can increase Call Bird’s infliction rate to 115% at level 10. Oh and RNG can add up to 9% to those chances.

So on average, you have a 97.9% chance of landing a head bind with Call Bird and Wild Mastery, or a 98.6% chance on average of landing a bind with Hanging. This means that mathematically, it’s impossible to be guaranteed to head bind him, no matter how high your binding skill levels and your LUC and TEC stats are. Which means that it’s completely possible to lose the fight through absolutely no fault of your own, because Elder Dragon casted Supernova on a turn where a head bind refused to land. That’s not difficulty, Atlus. That’s just being a dick. And yes, I have lost fights before because of an extremely unlucky lack of a head bind proc.



But at any rate, unlike the other Sea Quests, we’re not helping out anyone else. Instead, we’re being helped by the people we’ve assisted before. So let’s see how helpful these NPCs are.







Kirikaze
Class: Ninja
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Kirikaze’s AI Script posted:

If self's HP is below 51%, use a Medica III. (Targets self. Limit of 2.)
If Elder Dragon casts Ancient Breath, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 2.)
If Elder Dragon does not have his legs bound, cast Kagenui. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If there are no empty party slots, and at least 1 clone is one the field, cast Tagen Battou. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If 5 or less party slots are filled, cast Bunshin. (Targets self.)
If 5 or less party slots are filled, and self is not at full HP, cast Bunshin. (Targets self.)
If there are no empty party slots, and at least 1 clone is one the field, and Elder Dragon has his legs bound, cast Tagen Battou. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If self's TP is below 21%, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 2.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)


Kirikaze was one of the first of the NPCs we’ve fought with, and now she is willing to take time out of doing tasks for her master to help us. She wasn’t a particularly spectacular party member all the times we’ve fought with her, and I’m sad to say that’s also the case here. She’ll focus on leg binding Elder Dragon, then try to make use of Tagen Battou if she’s allowed to clone herself. Unfortunately, her damage isn’t great, even though she has access to the ultimate Dagger. In fact, Kirikiaze is pretty much a straight up liability if you’re trying to make use of a Wildling, since animals are far more useful than what she can contribute. Otherwise, she’s just kind of there.

Now since binds are an important part of the fight, I’m gonna talk a bit about each NPC’s binding capabilities (if they are capable of doing so). Kirikaze’s LUC and TEC stat total matches Elder Dragon, meaning that she receives no boosts or penalties to her infliction rates. She only has access to leg binds, As such, she has a 54% to 62% chance of landing a leg bind with Kagenui.

Bring whoever you want for this Sea Quest, but be warned that if you try to bring a Wildling, you’re gonna be fighting over that 6th slot with her.

Oh and interesting to note, all the NPCs in these Sea Quests do come with their ultimate weapons and armor to help give you an edge. (And are extremely overleveled to boot.)







Toma
Class: Farmer
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Toma’s AI Script posted:

When healing, prioritize party members with the lowest HP.
If at least 1 party member is below 71% HP, use a Medica III. (Targets allies. Limit of 10.)
If at least 1 party member is below 11% TP, use an Amrita II. (Targets allies. Limit of 3.)
If at least 1 party member is below 31% TP, use an Amrita II. (Targets allies. Limit of 5.)
If at least 1 party member is below 91% HP, use a Medica II. (Targets allies. Limit of 10.)
If Elder Dragon does not have his head bound, 69% chance to cast Strange Seeds. (Targets self.)
If Elder Dragon is below 2% HP, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, defend. (Targets self.)


We’ve hunted down treasure with Toma before, and in all those Sea Quests, he’s been a very good support. He continues that role here, as he’s a very good healer and will keep your party and his ally going. Occasionally he’ll try to bind Elder Dragon with Strange Seeds, but for the most part, he’ll just focus on patching your party up. And he can continue that job for quite a while. Especially if you happen to bring a healer to keep everyone topped off.

As for his binding capabilities... I wouldn’t rely on him to make good use of binds. Strange Seeds is really not a reliable binding skills, but for the sake of posterity, I’ll list out the actual rates depending on the bind that it happens to choose. Head binds will have an 89% to 96% chance of landing. But arm binds and leg binds will always be guaranteed to land. However, the main issue is if Strange Seeds picks a bind that Elder Dragon is already inflicted with, it will do nothing. But fortunately, Toma is not our main binder in this fight.



Bergman
Class: Wildling
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Bergman’s AI Script posted:

If self's HP is below 31%, use a Medica II. (Targets self. Limit of 3.)
If Elder Dragon casts Ancient Breath, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 2.)
If 5 or less party slots are filled, and Elder Dragon does not have his head bound, cast Call Bird. (Targets self.)
If 5 or less party slots are filled, and Elder Dragon does not have his arms bound, cast Call Snake. (Targets self.)
If 5 or less party slots are filled, and Elder Dragon does not have his legs bound, cast Call Mole. (Targets self.)
If Elder Dragon does not have the Beast Roar debuff, cast Beast Roar. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If Elder Dragon does not have the Primal Drums debuff, cast Primal Drums. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If self's TP is below 21%, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 5.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)


Bergman is. He has always been a reliable party member every time we’ve fought together, and was most definitely capable of carrying his own weight. Now, he will pretty much carry your party kicking and screaming to victory because he’s that damn good at his job. He will pretty much ensure that Elder Dragon stays bound whenever possible, and prioritizes head binds first so you won’t be so likely to lose the fight. And if Elder Dragon happens to be fully bound, he’ll toss out some debuffs to make the fight easier for you.

Now Bergman is guaranteed to inflict arm and leg bind on Elder Dragon whenever he casts Call Snake and Call Mole. Unfortunately, due to the issue I talked about earlier, he only has a 95% to 100% chance of landing a head bind. So if you’re unlucky, you can lose to a stray Supernova. That’s about as good as binding he gets, so feel free to bring whatever bind you want, or just let Bergman handle all the heavy lifting.

This is what I meant by the game having you covered if you don’t have any binders in your party. If you don’t happen to have a binder, take this Sea Quest. It’s by far the easiest Sea Quest to complete, since a Wildling is provided for you. And for the record, completing all the Sea Quests is not required for 100% completion. Only beating the sea bosses at least once is, so once you’ve taken out Elder Dragon once, you’re free to ignore the other Sea Quests if you lack a binder. At any rate, Toma and Bergman have the support angles covered pretty well, so you should mainly bring offensive characters to this Sea Quest.







Victoria
Class: Princess
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Victoria’s AI Script posted:

If the front row does not have the Attack Order buff, cast Attack Order. (Targets the front row.)
If the front row does not have the Guard Order buff, cast Guard Order. (Targets the front row.)
If the front row does not have the Protect Order buff, cast Protect Order. (Targets the front row.)
If self is below 31% TP, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 3.)
If self is below 31% HP, use a Medica III. (Targets self. Limit of 5.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)


Along with Kirikaze, Victoria was one of the first people we’ve teamed up with, and now she’s one of the last people we’ll fight alongside with. She’s been a fairly good support for her own allies, and the same applies here. She doesn’t focus on the back row too much, but considering who her allies are, she doesn’t need to focus on the back row if you bring the right party members.



Zaby
Class: Buccaneer
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Zaby’s AI Script posted:

If Elder Dragon does not have his head bound, cast Hanging. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
Cast Pincushion. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If self's TP is below 36%, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 5.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)


Zaby and her crew were able to handle things on their own the few times we fought with them, and just like those times, she’s capable of handling herself here as well. Her behavior is really simple. Head bind Elder Dragon if his head isn’t bound, and use Pincushion if it is. She’s a fairly decent damage dealer, and Victoria’s buffs can help her out.

Unfortunately, you really can’t rely on Zaby to get the job done when it comes to head binding Elder Dragon. Her LUC and TEC stats are so far below his, that she only has a 48% to 55% chance of getting his head bound with Hanging. And considering that Supernova will cause you to lose the fight instantly, you’re really better off bringing your own head binder instead of trying to play with a coin toss every time his head gets unbound.



Nerona
Class: Gladiator
Stats:
Equipment:
Skillset:
Supplies:

Nerona’s AI Script posted:

If Elder Dragon is blind, paralyzed, confused, asleep, poisoned, plagued, or cursed, cast Wolf Howl. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If Elder Dragon does not have his arms bound, cast Arm Breaker. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
Cast Nine Smashes. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
Use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If Elder Dragon does not have his arms bound, cast Arm Breaker. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
Cast Nine Smashes. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)
If self's TP is below 36%, use an Amrita II. (Targets self. Limit of 5.)
Else, if self is unable to do anything else for whatever reason, use a regular attack. (Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.)


We’ve only fought by Nerona’s side once, but hey, it’s always nice to have help. I honestly have no idea what’s with the redundancy in her AI. But at any rate, Nerona’s behavior is simple. Is Elder Dragon Arm bound? No? Then try to arm bind him. Then just cast Nine Smashes whenever possible. Nine Smashes isn’t as much of an issue here as it was in the King Penguin fight, as Elder Dragon’s legs should be bound as often as possible. Also if you somehow manage to land an ailment on him, she’ll toss out a Wolf Howl so deal even more damage can be dealt to him. But that’s probably not something to deliberately go after unless you have the opportunity.

Because Nerona’s LUC and TEC stats are so far below Elder Dragon’s respective stats, she actually just has a 72% to 82% chance of succeeding with Arm Breaker due to the infliction rate bug, so she’s fairly reliable at getting that job done.

This Sea Quest honestly has enough in the way of damage dealers. Both Zaby and Nerona can handle the job, so you should mainly bring supports for this Sea Quest. Brining your own head binder is a must, since Zaby cannot be trusted with that job.

Now that we’ve taken a look at our allies, let’s take a look at our own guild and begin the final party vote in this Let’s Play!

Banned



Ready, everyone? Ha ha ha, this is gonna be so much fun!

Considering how Fang is the only one in the guild capable of inflicting head binds, and that binds are so important in this fight, Fang is banned from voting. He’s coming along since we need him in order to win this fight.

This is the other fight that I was saying that a Wildling was good for, and given all the reasons I just laid out, I’m sure you can see why. If you want to do all the Sea Quests here, having a Wildling is a must.

The Rest of the Guild



Heh heh, I’m kinda nervous about all this. Hope we can take him down...

Faye is by far one of the strongest supports we can bring along. She has buffs, and her healing capabilities will make the fight far far more bearable given how much damage Elder Dragon can dish out.



As long as we are sufficiently prepared, I’m sure we’ll prevail.

Yeah... Wait, why am I worried!? If we all die, we can just try again!

...That, too.

Cassandra is also an extremely strong support to bring along. Her defensive capabilities can give the party a lot more room to breathe in the fight, especially considering how tanky she is on the physical side. That said, she’s not as strong as a defensive support given that she can’t use Bunshin, as Fang needs that slot far more.



Queen Dragon God... Yes, I like the sound of that.

MEGAQUEEN brings very little in the way of defense and instead goes all in on offense when it comes to support. Unfortunately, she’s rather redundant considering how many of her skills overlap with Faye’s, and defense is a lot more valuable than pure offense in this fight.



Hoo hoo! We’re gonna be in for the fight of our lives, here!

Sidney is one of the best physical damage dealers we have on this team. Unfortunately, his fragile defenses are very much a concern in this fight. Making use of Front Mortar is completely infeasible without Cassandra in the party, as Elder Dragon will be glad to paste him to the ground since his attacks deal so much damage.



The Elder Dragon’s trial... I hope we’re up to the task.

Akatsuki is really not a great party member to bring along. He can’t use Bunshin since Fang needs that slot more, so using Tagen Battou is out of the question. He’s also not that great at binding Elder Dragon’s legs either.



Never in my life did I think I would get to do something like this!

The absolute best damage dealer in our team without question, is Asteria. Yes, really. Since head binds are a huge part of the fight, Elder Dragon’s TEC stat will get halved. Meaning that Meteor gets a massive, and I mean massive damage boost. No other damage dealer aside from Sidney can compare to her. And her fragility isn’t a problem, since she can be placed onto the back row without any problems.



Swords sharpened... I’m ready to go!

Rose is a durable physical attacker, and a fairly reliable party member to bring along. Since Elder Dragon should ideally have his legs bound at all times, her accuracy issues aren’t that big in this fight.



Queen of the dragons? Pfft, in your dreams.

Would it kill you to not be a spoil sport for once?

Scott is another good damage dealer we have, and he’s fairly fast as well. He can also provide some support with Eagle Eye.



Ohhh, I hope this will all turn out well.

Alice is... not a stellar party member to bring along. Her ailment score matches Elder Dragon’s, so she gets no boosts or penalties to her infliction rates. Making her a rather mediocre leg binder.



Perhaps this will finally give us the edge we need to triumph over the Evil One...

Charlotte is a bit fragile and is capable of dealing great amounts of damage, but she’s a bit unreliable for the job.



Put me in coach, I’ll give that dragon god the ol’ one-two!

Unfortunately, Smith is really not a great damage dealer to bring along. Breakfire Fist barely does anything, and there’s little he has to offer over all of the other options.

Vote for up to 4 party members you wish to see take on the Elder Dragon’s test. Votes must be in bold.